In the past, various methods have been suggested to recover coal in situ by slurrying the coal. Some of these techniques are taught in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,532,826, 3,260,548, 3,359,037 and 4,032,193. U.S. Pat. No. 4,032,193 discloses a process for treating coal in-situ with a basic aqueous solution, preferably sodium hydroxide, to disintegrate the coal. The patent states that either mechanical enlargement of the wellbore in the vicinity of alkali injection or removal of some of the initially disaggregated coal is necessary to provide adequate porosity. The patent also suggests that the coal may be contacted with a reactive oxygen-containing substance. There is still need, however, for a process of slurrying coal in-situ which minimizes need for mechanical operations down the well.